Hollow shoe form



April 28, 1936. 1.. W. REINHARDT HOLLOW SHOE FORM Filed Jan. 11, 1935 .ziifjflor Eauisllifieuzlzard$ Patented Apr. 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOLLOW SHOE FORM Application January 11, 1935, Serial No. 1,271

5 Claims.

My present invention relates to improvements in shoe forms of the type customarily used for an internal support for shoes.

Various materials have been used in making these forms such as fibre, celluloid, or other materials that may be readily molded to desired contour. In addition to the low cost feature, other characteristics of the materials selected were that they permit the efiicient production of a light weight from having the strength to render the essential internal support to the shoe.

There is, however, an increasing demand for forms of fabrics which may be made by dieing out blanks of desired shape and size. These are treated with a suitable sizing so that when shaped over a last and the sizing dried, the material Will be set to hold the preformed contour.

While these forms may consist of both toe and heel portions, my present invention relates to the solution of a problem that may be fully understood from the toe portion alone.

All forms of the type under consideration are of a shell-like construction having a complete upper portion and a bottom which consists of a marginal flange of desired and usually varying widths.

It is this necessary bottom or sole flange that gives rise to the principal problem in making fabric forms for in drawing in the material around the last to give the upper its shape, an excess of the material develops in the toe portion of the sole flange. This excess of material has been generally gathered in leaving a puckered mass extending above adjacent flange surfaces.

Attempts have been made to eliminate this objectionable result by cutting the stock to minimize the amount of material to be disposed of, or, more frequently, skiving or trimming the material as much as possible without fatally Weakening the form. Both of these attempts were unsuccessful as the structure was weakened and its appearance made an added objection regardless of which way the problem was to be avoided.

According to my concept, I have solved this problem effectively by reversing the thickness resulting from the several plaits so that the exposed creases will lie flush with adjacent flange surfaces and the objectionable thickness will be disposed within the completed form. This permits me to utilize the full strength of the material and present a fabric form in which shape, strength, and appearance are successfully com bined.

The advantages of my invention will be readblank died out of any textile of rather open ily apparent from a consideration of the accompanying drawing and specification in which I have illustrated and described the forms, a last for use in their manufacture, and the several stops in producing the forms.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top view of my completed form.

Fig. 2 is a partly sectioned view of a last consistent with my invention.

Fig. 3 indicates the first step in shaping the form.

Fig. 4 shows its progressive development, and

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the completed form.

I preferably use for my shoe form or filler a weave, such, for example, as buckram. The blank is sized and when ready for use is soaked and tempered until it reaches a saturated doughlike and cohesive condition when it is ready to be shaped and pulled over and drawn about the last I.

In order to produce my forms, I provide a last I with its bottom 2 recessed as at 3 in the toe zone. The characteristics of the concavity or recess 3 may be most readily understood by a consideration of my method of developing the wet blanks into completed forms and the desired qualities that a fabric last must have.

The wet blank is drawn smoothly over the last I usually by hand to make an upper portion 4 and is drawn in over the edge of the bottom 2 of the last I to form a flange 5 of desired widths.

The development of the form is effected in practice by drawing the rear portion of the blank tightly around the last I and anchoring the ends 6 to the desired point on the bottom 2 of the last I by pressing them with the fingers so that the ends 6 will be firmly held by the sizing.

The upper 4 is developed by drawing in the edges of the material over the bottom 2 which makes it necessary to gather in the excess material to give the flange 5 the contour of the bottom 2 of the last I. This step, as has been previously mentioned, has hitherto resulted in the objectionable condition of the flange 5 in the toe 4 area. I eliminate that condition as is shown in Figs. 3 and 4 by gathering in the material in a succession of plaits over the recess 3 in the last I. These plaits are first formed near the toe end and are then formed in succession until the 50 upper 4 is properly shaped and the flange 5 tightly fitted to the bottom 2 of the last I.

In following this order, the first plaits I and 8 will be heavier and longer in their crease than the successive plaits due to the curve or rgund- 55 ing of the toe and will, with a flange 5 of substantial width, usually overlap.

As subsequent plaits are formed, they will present a series of plaits 9 and Ill disposed in shingled or supporting relation to the first folds or plaits l and 8 respectively. These plaits 9 and II] will present exposed radial creases I l and will be of successively decreasing proportions as the quantity of material to be gathered decreases.

According to my concept, I preferably provide a concavity or depression 3 in the last 1 occupying substantially the toe zone on the bottom 2. Because of the nature of the plaits, the.

depression -3 will be deepest in the toe portion and become shallower in its rear portion. Thus, the creases ll of the plaits will lie substantially flush with adjacent surfaces of the flange 5.

As all the plating is effected over the concavity or recess 3, the formation of the plaits results in their being pressed down into the recess 3 where they are held by the adherent sizing and when the sizing becomes set, the plaits are permanent for all practical and required purposes.

. While the recess 3 has its primary utility in connection with the proper positioning. of the excess material as above set forth, it also is of assistance in recessing better forms. The recess 3 permits a better grip on the material particularly after the plaits 1 and 8 have been formed and this factor in conjunction with the generally inward set of all the material except that disposed of in the exposed creases ll permits a more accurately shaped form.

For most uses I preferably connect the flange 5 across the bottom of the form (see Fig. 5) as by a wire U-shaped spring I2 across the ball zone. In the form shown, the ends of the spring l2 are inturned to form loops indicated at l3, which are eyeletted as at M to thebottom or sole flange 5. The spring l2 combines and cooperates to give a slight but important resiliency to the form and serves to hold it against the inside of the interior part of the shoe. This permits a wide usage of the form for different sizes or contours in shoes.

Such a form may be readily inserted and withdrawn from a shoe and its increased strength and improved appearance renders it admirably suited for the desired purposes.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A molded shoe form comprising a cementitiously presized textile blank including a formed upper and an inturned sole flange, said flange including at the rounded toe portion an excess of material disposed in a series of folds, the exposed creases of said folds lying flush with adjacent flange surfaces and the fullness of the folds lying within said form.

2. The method of making shoe forms consisting in shaping a blank of sized textile material about a last having a recess in the toe portion of the last bottom to form an upper and a sole flange, in gathering in the excess material over and into said recess in plaits, whereby when the sizing has set, the exposed creases of said plaits will lie flush with said flange surfaces adjacent said upper.

3. A shoe form comprising an integral upper and sole flange molded from a cementitiously presized textile blank, said sole flange being of substantial width and including in its front portion plaits constituting residual slackage of the flange stock developed in the molding of said form, and said plaits constituting reenforcements for the toe area and disposed in preserved maintenance of the contact plane of said flange with inner sole surfaces when the form is lodged within the toe cavity.

4. A shoe form comprising an integral upper and sole flange molded from a cementitiously presized textile blank, said sole flange being of substantial width and including in its front portions reinforcing folds constituting residual slackage of the flange stock developed in the molding of said form, said folds being disposed to permit the contact plane of said flange and the inner sole surfaces to be determined by adjacent flange surfaces, and a transverse spring anchored to said flange to cooperate with said form in establishing a well fitted internal support for a shoe.

5. The method of making shoe forms consisting in molding a blank of presized textile about a last having a recess in the toe portion of the last bottom to form an upper and a sole flange, and in disposing of slackage in said recess to preserve, when said sizing has set, contact surfaces defined by adjacent portions of said flange.

LOUIS W. REINHARDT. 

